The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is tucked away in an idyllic, 134-acre campus in Bentonville, Arkansas, the same town where Gensler and SWA recently completed a new global headquarters for Walmart. At the heart of the campus, founded in 2011 by the Walton family, is a museum by Safdie Architects. Its expansive terrain affords much room for growth. Since opening, Crystal Bridges acquired and relocated the BachmanWilson House by Frank Lloyd Wright to its grounds. It also ascertained artworks by Georgia OKeeffe, Mark Rothko, James Turrell, and others. Now, a new building for the Heartland Whole Health Institute designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects joins the illustrious works on view. Heartland Whole Health Institute, from Alice Walton of the Walmart dynasty, was founded in 2019. It focuses on developing holistic approaches to healthcare, wellness, and disease prevention.The buildings form and materials take cues from nearby bluffs, caves, rivers, forests, and fields from the northwest region of Arkansas. (Tim Hursley)The Heartland Whole Health Institute will formally open to the public on May 1. The 85,000-square-foot, 3-story building is inspired by the Ozarks, and its curvilinear natural landscape, MBA shared.The buildings form and materials take cues from nearby bluffs, caves, rivers, forests, and fields from the northwest region of Arkansas, the designers shared. The ensemble uses a mix of weathered brass fins, glass, and stone cladding. It also incorporates Giraffe stone, a vernacular building method common in Arkansas. Marlon Blackwell also designed the Ledger building nearby, the building notable for its bikeable facade was also influenced by the geography and landscape of the Ozarks region.The angular facade harkens to the mountainous landscape beyond. (Tim Hursley)Designed from the inside out and the outside in, Heartland Whole Health Institute is both a platform for and physical realization of the Institutes mission to move health beyond illness treatment and into wholistic well-being, Ati and Marlon Blackwell, MBAs founders, said in a statement. Its spaces, materials, and forms, drawn from the sites karst topography and Ozark forests, enhance the connection to nature and place, and create an atmosphere to nurture the whole self, the architects added.Guests enter the Heartland Whole Health Institute through a passageway that runs through the buildings center. From there, visitors can enjoy a gallery space, cafe, and event spaces. They then pour out to a generous lawn with a forest beyond. The buildings two upper-levels are dedicated to offices and administrative space. Wood applications inside mimic the exterior materiality and texture.The interiors mimic the exterior materiality. (Tim Hursley)Marlon Blackwell Architects has worked with Crystal Bridges Museum before. The Arkansas office recently completed a new 6-story parking garage and a museum store there. The parking garage has a cafe and retail on the ground floor, and an upper level terrace.The 800-car parking garage by Marlon Blackwell Architects has a cafe and retail space on the ground floor, and an upper level terrace. (Tim Hursley)The goal of Crystal Bridges Campus Parking was to transform a utilitarian feature into a welcoming entrance, Blackwell added. By including Sky Terrace performance and gathering space and a cafe, visitors can begin their day with friendly amenities that demonstrate the culture and character of a world-class destination.In 2026, a new, 114,000-square-foot expansion by Safdie Architects will complete at Crystal Bridges.